Feature
- Materials Science
Forensics on Trial
A decades-long practice of matching bullets on the basis of their chemical makeup is flawed, and the story behind this forensic technique reveals how science can get distorted in the courtroom.
- Animals
The Social Lives of Snakes
A lot of pit vipers aren't the asocial loners that even snake fans had long assumed.
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Mother and Child Disunion
Data on extensive giveaways of daughters by their mothers in northern Taiwan a century ago may challenge influential theories of innate maternal sentiments.
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The Bad Seed
Researchers are racing to identify tumor-forming stem cells in skin, lung, pancreatic, and many other cancers.
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- Astronomy
Invisible Universe
X-ray astronomy opens a new window on the most energetic cosmic events.
- Planetary Science
A New Flight Plan
President Bush recently unveiled an ambitious plan for a manned mission to Mars, using the moon as a testing area and stepping-stone, but for many planetary scientists the moon is a desirable destination in and of itself.
- Health & Medicine
Born to Heal
The controversial strategy of screening embryos to produce donors for siblings raises hopes and presents new ethical dilemmas.
- Tech
Body Builders
By growing stem cells on three- dimensional polymer scaffolds, tissue engineers hope to mimic natural tissue development and ultimately produce replacement body parts.
- Earth
Killer Waves
Scientists are using sophisticated computer models, field studies of coastal geology, and data from tidal gauges to assess the tsunami risk for coastal residents.
- Health & Medicine
Inflammatory Fat
Immune system cells may underlie much of the disease-provoking injury in obese individuals that has been linked to their excess fat.
- Computing
Straining for Speed
Hitting fundamental limits on how small they can make certain structures within semiconductor transistors, chip makers are deforming the silicon crystals from which those transistors are made to eke out some extra speed.
